I used to go to Santa's Village in Scotts Valley, CA as a kid. Even then, it was a dump. But I still have fond memories.

Several of the notable buildings, Santa's Workshop, the Chapel and another were relocated to a resort near Lake Tahoe, called Sorensen's. I have stayed in all three of them at one time or another for the memories. You can see a couple of them here http://www.sorensensresort.com/rooms.html#tabs-5

It was part of our holiday tradition EVERY year. Very sad when they closed it. I'll see if I can dig up the pics. I know we have them somewhere. BTW: Isn't there a Santa's Village on 101 before Santa Barbara?

On 2011-12-04 09:39, Coco Loco wrote:Yes! If that's the Giant Santa we can see from the freeway, that's it!. I always thought it was a village and we've always wanted to pull off and check it out. But always on a tight schedule.

Last time we went through it wasn't there. We were saddened in missing the opportunity. Hopefully they'll put the Santa back up after renovation. Thanks for posting this!

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On 2011-12-03 12:34, King Bushwich the 33rd wrote:Possibly Santa Claus lane at Carpinteria?

It was a small point of interest. There was a small train ride as well as a snowman on top of another building. I remember it mostly for its delicious date shakes. We would get one on the way home from a Sunday drive (remember those) to Santa Barbara. The other interesting thing was that during the holiday season you could get your Christmas cards post marked "Santa Claus, CA". I did that all the years I lived in Summerland.

The people who own th property wanted to play up the fact that the lane is right by the ocean.* So Santa was evicted several years ago. He was given a permanent home in Oxnard and now greets you from the other side of the 101.

* The scrooges are still chapped that the street is Santa Claus Lane. They really want to change it.